Equalities

We at Roseberry Primary and Nursery School are committed to equality.

We aim for every pupil to fulfil their potential no matter what his/her background or personal circumstances. We maintain the aim of embedding principles of fairness and equality across our entire curriculum, in assemblies and acts of collective worship, in break and lunchtimes, in pastoral support and in before and after school activities.

We must under the general duty of public sector equality duty, in the exercise of our functions, have due regard to the need to:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Act.

Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;

Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

This will apply to all pupils, staff and others using the facilities. We will give relevant and proportionate consideration to the public sector equality duty.

The protected characteristics for the schools provisions are:

Disability

Gender reassignment

Pregnancy and maternity

Race

Religion or belief

Sex

Sexual orientation

Age (only applicable to staff, not pupils)

Marriage and Civil Partnerships (only applicable to staff, not pupils)

Age and marriage and civil partnership are NOT protected characteristics for the schools provisions for pupils.

We will have due regard to advancing equality of opportunity including making serious consideration of the need to

remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are connected to that characteristic;

take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a protected characteristics that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it;

encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.

Amongst other focus days/weeks/assemblies, the occasions of Chinese New Year and other major religious festivals, Christmas, European Day of Languages celebrated diversity and multi-culturalism

Well-being ambassadors

We will update our equality objectives every four years and will publish progress on them annually

We adopt a whole school approach to equality and consider it important for pupils to learn about equality and human rights. We adhere to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHCR) statement:

‘To reap the full benefits of equality and human rights education, it is essential to teach topics in an environment which respects the rights and differences of both students and teachers. Without an equality and human rights culture within the classroom and school as a whole, learning about these topics can at best appear irrelevant, and at worst, hypocritical. The respect and tolerance it teaches will help staff and students create a healthier, happier, fairer school culture, and could lead to reductions in bullying and other negative behaviour, and improvements in attainment and aspirations.

Though the Act refers to ‘race’, the use of ethnic/ cultural origin, background or heritage is often more appropriate